Web3: Gala Games $5B for NFT Expansion; $450MM into Anchor; 600k Helium Network hotspots; BlackRock crypto trading plans; BlockFi $100MM SEC penalty

Gm Fintech Futurists — welcome to our Web3 newsletter, focused on covering the overall progress in the metaverse, NFTs, and DeFi. To more closely manage which emails you receive, see this post. If you want to go deeper with our weekly long takes and develop a view on the space, check out our premium features below.

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NFT, Metaverse, and Gaming

⭐ Gala Games to Plough $5B into NFT Expansion Efforts - Blockworks, February 8

Source

Ethereum NFT Marketplace OpenSea Launches Investment Arm and Grants Program - Decrypt, February 11

The Women Of The Metaverse - Forbes, February 8

Sotheby’s Set to Auction 104 CryptoPunks Valued at $20M to $30M - Blockworks, February 8

Play-to-Earn Ethereum NFT Game Axie Infinity Nears Free-to-Play Shift - Decrypt, February 11

Gucci Buys Virtual Land on The Sandbox as Part of Metaverse Experience Bid - The Block, February 9

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DAOs and Token Engineering

⭐ Re-envisioning Corporations: How DAOs and Blockchain Can Improve The Way We Organise - World Economic Forum, February 8

Source

​​Build Finance DAO Suffers 'Hostile Governance Takeover,' Loses $470,000 - the Block, February 14

DAO Liquidity Provider Raises $18M in Round Led by Pantera Capital - Blockworks, February 8

Washington Nationals to ‘Explore’ Terra’s UST Stablecoin in DAO-Approved Partnership Deal - CoinDesk, February 9

The Evolution of DAOs and Why They are Expected to Take Hold in 2022 - Coin Telegraph, February 12

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DeFi and Stablecoins

⭐ Luna Foundation Proposes $450M Cash Injection to Boost Anchor DeFi Protocol Reserves - BeInCrypto, February 10

Source - TVL of the Anchor Protocol

Yearning for Yearn - Messari, February 8

​​SEC Enforcement Against Wonderland Could Mean Trouble for DeFi - CoinDesk, February 14

Gnosis Votes on Whether to Spin Out DeFi Infrastructure Project as Independent DAO - The Defiant, February 10

Block by Block: Assessing Risk in Decentralised Finance - Moody’s, February 13

Treasury Officials Say Stablecoin Issuers Must be Bank to Ensure Security - Blockworks, February 8

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Public Blockchains

⭐ The Reason Every IoT User is Opting for Helium Decentralised Network - Programming Insider, February 8

Source - Helium networks hotspot activity

Zero Knowledge Proofs Can Save the Metaverse From Becoming a Dystopian Surveillance State - The Defiant, February 11

Twitter Joins $20M Funding Round for Bitcoin Payments Provider OpenNode - CoinDesk, February 9

What is Avalanche Network (AVAX) and How Does it Work? - Coin Telegraph, February 12

Introducing the Nomic Foundation: An Ethereum Public Goods Organisation - Nomic Foundation, February 9

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Crypto, Fintech and Institutional

⭐ BlackRock Planning to Offer Crypto Trading, Sources Say - CoinDesk, February 9

Source - BlackRock AUM growth (trillion USD)

⭐ Crypto Lender BlockFi to Pay $100MM in Fines to US Regulators - Blockworks, February 14

Marc Boiron (Wannabe Shadowy Super Coder) @boironattorney

1. The BlockFi settlement isn't very interesting, except in one respect: the SEC is trying to get a PR win in DC. Specifically, the SEC wants to prove that it is open to registering crypto products for public offerings.

Crypto Exchange Coinbase is Forced to Throttle Traffic After its Viral QR-code Super Bowl Ad Briefly Crashes its Website - Markets Insider, February 14

Couple Arrested as Government Recovers $3.6B in Stolen Bitcoin - Blockworks, February 8

El Salvador Bitcoin Bond Issuance Coming as Soon as March 15: Finance Minister - CoinDesk, February 9

Upcoming Apple iPhone Feature to Give Merchants a Way to Accept Crypto Payments - Coin Telegraph, February 9

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Enterprise Chains and CBDCs

⭐ Is Healthcare Ready For Blockchain? - Managed Healthcare Executive, February 8

Source

Blockchain Project to Target Rare Earth Metal Sustainability - Ledger Insights, February 9

Zimbabwe’s Central Bank Exploring CBDC, Reiterates Opposition to Cryptocurrencies - Bitcoin.com, February 8

Seven Procurement and Supply Chain Technology Trends for 2022 - Supply Chain Brain - February 11

New Alfa Romeo SUV Uses NFT and Blockchain to Track Car Records - Coin Telegraph, February

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Virtual Events & Conferences

⭐ The MIT FinTech Conference is focused on the FinTech of tomorrow.

A landmark Sloan event and one of the largest student-run conferences in the world, the MIT FinTech Conference brings together the most prominent minds in FinTech this February. The hybrid event will take place on *February 25, 2022 at the Marriott Cambridge Hotel (Boston, MA) and online* to a global audience and is not to be missed. Save your seat today on Eventbrite and follow MIT FinTech on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or the website for the latest updates.

👉 Use code: LEX2022 for a 20% discount.

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More? More!

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